On the Nature of the Mind and Soul and Body

March 15, 2006

I'd like to put forth my view of the interconnection between mind, body, and soul. This may well be incorrect, but this is the best I can understand at the moment.
This view has formed over the years as I have observed how separate parts must work together to create a being.

The soul, the mind, and the body are each discrete aspects composing a man, yet at the same time relate and connect with one another.

The body is mortal and fragile. No one need be reminded that the body exists now and will cease to exist in the future.
Yet the body is not disconnected from the brain. The body supplies nutrients to the brain, and sends signals of pain and pleasure.
The brain, for its part, commands the body.
The body has an arm, yet an impulse from the brain commands that arm.
But I'll dwell no longer on the nature of mind and body, for it is clear to any who considers them.

Next is the soul. This is the divine "spark" or "shard" within someone.
If we are crafted in the nature of God, it is not because we have an arm like God has an arm, but rather because we have this divine soul.
Our soul is ultimately our will.
We make decisions via this soul. It is our consciousness.

How do the brain and soul interact?
And of the body and soul?
The brain can feel hunger, yet it is the soul which decides to eat.
The body can feel cold. The brain is told this by the body. And the brain relays this information to the soul.
The soul may then decide to exit a room.
Memory, it seems, resides in the brain, yet can be accessed by the soul.
And when we will our arm to move, our soul tells the brain which tells the body.

That is to say, the brain acts in many ways as the connection between soul and body.
The brain may be the store for memory.
But the brain per se can act. The body gives the brain some impulses which don't consult the soul before translating into action.
When I put my hand onto a hot pan, my soul isn't consulted before an action to retract that arm is taken.
When my heart beats, my soul has no action, but my brain controls it.
Sometimes, in fact, the brain can initiate an action which occurs only if the soul fails to intervene,
such as when a young child will act in a certain manner unless an adult stops him.
For instance, one may "find" oneself eating potato chips.
This may not have been the result of any direct will, but rather because no personal impulse prevented it.

And of damage.
The soul cannot be harmed. Yet there are those who seem unable to manifest will properly, or at all. What of them?
A rational man with an irrational means of communication will be indistinguishable from an irrational man.
The soul, rational though it may be, is yet restricted to interacting with the world through the brain.
Moreover, the information about which the soul can base worldly decisions is a product only of that brain.
Therefore, consider a man who is controlling a robot remotely.
If the robot is not acting in a rational manner, then perhaps the robot is sending faulty data to the man.
Perhaps, instead, the connection between the man and the robot is broken.
Thus, a soul is not able to become irrational, but a soul may have a poor connection with the body, or none at all.